Niranjana Swami's Quote Of The Day

Topic

July 16

Once, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta went with many of his household disciples to the temple of Sakshi-gopala. In front of the temple, there were many beggars. The householders decided amongst themselves to not give in charity to the beggars, but instead to give to God. However, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura chastised them: “You are not giving to the beggars. You must understand that the Supersoul is within their hearts. When you are giving charity, you are giving to the Lord within the heart.” He went on to explain that even in the temple, whenever a guest comes and whoever he may be, he should be given some food. This is the atithinarayan principle (respecting the uninvited or unscheduled guest as if he were God). However, one should not give food regularly to the same beggars, because then they will simply come for food. Thus we must see the Supreme Personality of God within the hearts of all living beings.
(LFD Vol 3, Brahmachari Asharam, Pg 426, 6th Paragraph)

July 15

There is a shift in emphasis, but it is not away from book distribution. From my own experience, I saw what happened when book distribution was always preached as the top priority. Many brahmacharis thought that they were so superior to everybody else because they distributed books. However, I watched them fall, one by one, because Lord Caitanya does not tolerate this kind of pride. Book distribution is still very important. The shift in emphasis is simply ensuring that the right motivation is there for distributing books. Thus, the shift in emphasis is in the attitude, not in the service.
(LFD Vol 3, Brahmachari Asharam, Pg 422, 3rd Paragraph)

July 14

There is the difference between bahirmukha-sisya and antarmukha-sisya. The bahirmukha sisya simply sees the external instruction, but he has to understand the essence of the instructions.
(LFD Vol 3, Brahmachari Asharam, Pg 421, 5th Paragraph)

July 13

We are spirit souls, and we need nourishment. If we do not get that nourishment from spiritual activities, then we start looking for other ways to gratify our senses.
(LFD Vol 3, Brahmachari Asharam, Pg 419, 2nd Paragraph)

July 12

It is very easy to put all the responsibility on the authority to be the person to initiate the relationship. However, if one really wants a relationship with someone, then according to our Vaisnava philosophy, the method of having a relationship with somebody is to consider all the responsibilities that that person has, and without even asking, you should look for opportunities to do something that will help him. In other words, you serve him. By so doing, you will get his attention, and he will reciprocate. That is the Vaisnava standard. Furthermore, if you really want attention, then serve him without any expectation of something in return. That is a foundational principle of love, and how we have reciprocal relationships according to Vaisnava philosophy.
(LFD Vol 3, Brahmachari Asharam, Pg 417, 3rd Paragraph)

July 11

Those experiencing pure love of God have not had their ability to desire destroyed; desire is the soul’s eternal companion. But instead of desiring sense gratification, pure souls repose their desire on an appropriate object of affection. Srila Prabhupada often said that everyone is looking for Krishna. If we are looking for wealth, then we should seek out Krishna, because Krishna has the greatest wealth. If we are looking for beauty, we should seek out Krishna, because Krishna is the most beautiful. If we are looking for power, then we will find no one more powerful than Krishna. If we are looking to become famous, then who could be more famous than God? If we are looking for intelligence, then we should know that Krishna is the most intelligent. He created this entire cosmic manifestation with only a fraction of His power and without having to do anything Himself. Now everything acts according to His will.
(LFD, Vol2, The Process for Awakening Bhakti, Pg 24 and 25)

July 10

It is the duty of the acarya to somehow get his disciples to fix their minds on Krishna. The rules and regulations can come later. Srila Prabhupada set the example of a guru trying to fix his disciples’ minds on Krishna. Even at the beginning, when Prabhupada started the Krishna consciousness movement, he attracted people by speaking about Krishna. It was quite some time before he introduced a new idea: “Anyone who lives in the ashrama must follow certain rules and regulations.” By the time Prabhupada introduced the rules and regulations, we were already so attracted to Krishna that we could not refuse to follow. When the mind is attracted to Krishna, we will naturally want to follow whatever regulations help us make progress toward Him.
(LFD, Vol2, The Process for Awakening Bhakti, Pg 23, 3rd paragraph)

July 9

Certainly we have to use logic and argument to come to the point of accepting the statements of scripture and the spiritual master as conclusive. In the end, however, all logic and argument has to be transcended, because neither engender pure devotion. Faith is the only real basis of devotion. Therefore the Srimad-Bhagavatam explains that Sri Krishna, the son of Mother Yashoda, is easily accessible to those who engage in spontaneous—fully faithful—devotional service to Him. Srila Rupa Gosvami therefore says that logic and argument, while important, do not form the safest path to bhakti; rather, like the Srimad-Bhagavatam, he recommends that we follow in the footsteps of the previous acaryas.
(LFD, Vol2, The Process for Awakening Bhakti, Pg 23, 2nd paragraph)

July 8

What is the best impetus to help us begin practicing devotional service? The best impetus is to hear from a devotee. Pure love for Krishna is eternally situated in every living being’s heart and does not come from any other source. When the living entity hears about Krishna from the right source, that dormant love is awakened. There is no more powerful method than hearing from a devotee about Krishna. Simply hearing the holy name from a Vaisnava can awaken some desire to chant it.
(LFD, Vol2, The Process for Awakening Bhakti, Pg 22, 3rd paragraph)

July 7

Faith and the desire to please the spiritual master are essential ingredients in the practice of vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti. Disciples should follow their spiritual master’s instructions not only out of obligation but to please the spiritual master. It is natural to the heart of every living being to want to serve and please someone. Devotees should mold their lives in such a way as to please their spiritual master. The spiritual master repeatedly instructs his disciples to execute regulated sadhana-bhakti. We may still have other duties to perform, but we must not neglect our daily sadhana practices, and we must perform it with the desire to achieve Krishna’s service. Sadhana practiced in this way will create a yearning for Krishna in the heart, and gradually, Bhakti devi will be attracted to manifest her potency.
(LFD, Vol2, The Process for Awakening Bhakti, Pg 20, 3rd paragraph)

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